Devialet Chat

The review emphasises the upgrade from a Dev 200 to a Dev 400 and the effect on the SQ. Here is a direct link to the PDF:

http://en.devialet.com/assets/blog/TAS-2...00-400.pdf

Quote:The Devialet 200/400 is, by a wide margin, the most advanced, flexible, and technically sophisticated audio product I’ve reviewed. It may look like a lifestyle product, but underneath the 200/400 is a serious piece of audiophile hardware. It’s a compelling package that just happens to sound great, too.

I'm suspicious of that claim. Won't that be very speaker specific and reflect both its power demands and its impedance curve? My speakers are rated 120 max. Will I be able to hear this difference on a pair of Avantgarde horns? (Not to suggest that it might not make a huge difference on a particular pair of speakers, or maybe difficult to drive speakers in general)

As an aside the Absolute Sound has really become a mediocre manufacturer's shill in comparison to its glory days (REG, Olsher and a few others excepted). Stereophile is now far superior both in terms of interesting content and in terms of the utility of the reviews.

Now that is a splendid review!

Yes indeed; almost embarrassing in its enthusiasm. But it is nice to have another complimentary review, and it always surprises me when someone compares a Devialet with amplification costing $150,000.00. Of course, $150 K on electronics is a bit amazing anyway.

But RH notes the D120 is not capable of supporting MM cartridges, or variable cartage loading. I checked the configurator, and it appears to me that the current firmware does both MC & MM as well as offering variable resistance settings.

Have I missed something, or is this discrepancy likely an equipment update that occurred between review and printing? It is not a big issue to me as I'm not using a TT at the moment, but I am probably going to give it a go again in the future.

(09-Mar-2015, 01:35)Damon Wrote: [ -> ]Yes indeed; almost embarrassing in its enthusiasm. But it is nice to have another complimentary review, and it always surprises me when someone compares a Devialet with amplification costing $150,000.00. Of course, $150 K on electronics is a bit amazing anyway.

But RH notes the D120 is not capable of supporting MM cartridges, or variable cartage loading. I checked the configurator, and it appears to me that the current firmware does both MC & MM as well as offering variable resistance settings.

Have I missed something, or is this discrepancy likely an equipment update that occurred between review and printing? It is not a big issue to me as I'm not using a TT at the moment, but I am probably going to give it a go again in the future.

I might well be wrong, but I recall the 110/120 originally had a simpler phono stage (MM-only, without adjustable loading) but has since been upgraded to support the "advanced" MM/MC phono stage with adjustable loading.  Not sure whether this was simply a firmware upgrade revealing capabilities of existing hardware, or whether it was a change to the hardware build.

Devialet's web site doesn't seem to be self-consistent about this: the comparison table shows MM-only phono support, whereas the 120-specific page (probably more recently updated) says it supports both MM and MC.

Maybe someone who has a 120 can nail this down?